Requiring mobile passwords is a direct assault on fundamental rights

The new Department of Homeland Security proposal that requires non-citizens disclose their social media passwords and frequently visited websites would enable border officials to invade people’s privacy by examining years of private emails, texts, and messages. It would expose travelers and everyone in their social networks, including potentially millions of U.S. citizens, to excessive, unjustified scrutiny. Consumer and privacy advocates joined together in a letter to the Department of Homeland Security to condemn this invasive proposal. Not only does this requirement fail to increase the security of U.S. citizens, it’s a direct assault on their fundamental rights and sets a horrible global precedent.

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly wants foreign visitors to divulge the websites they visit and their social media passwords to border patrol before they’re allowed to enter the United States. If they don’t agree, they could be denied entry. Secretary Kelly’s dangerous idea does not only risk impeding the rights of U.S. citizens, it would also set a dangerous global precedent—leading the procedure to be mirrored by foreign governments, which will demand passwords from U.S. citizens when they seek entry to foreign countries.